
Fewer international students adding to university budget challenges
OTTAWA – Canadian universities are being forced to tighten their financial belts as they struggle with plummeting enrolment from international students who pay higher tuitions.
Universities Canada says 'inadequate' provincial operating grants are also a factor in ongoing budget challenges for post-secondary institutions. President Gabriel Miller says tuition and fees from international student enrolment had provided a funding stopgap, but that is now being challenged due changing rules for international students, including a reduction in permits.
'We've been dealt a bad hand on international students, but the real problem is that governments have been gambling with the future of higher (education) for more than a decade,' Miller said.
'What we're now seeing is an opportunity gap that will start to grow where future students who want to go to study in universities are not going to have access to as many spaces. They're going to be forced to be in bigger classes, because the deal between government and families that build our universities isn't being held up.'
Miller said it's 'striking' how uniform budgetary issues are across the country.
McGill University is projecting a $45 million deficit for the next fiscal year, due in part to declining international student enrolment.
The University of Waterloo is looking to cut spending by $42 million this year as it faces a $75 million deficit.
The University of Regina is raising tuition by four per cent with 'flat' domestic enrolment and a 'significant' drop in international student enrolment contributing to budget challenges.
'We are seeing a severe loss of talent, which is greater than anything most people anticipated. And so that obviously means loss of revenue and loss of opportunity for Canadian students because those international students have been helping to pay the bills in our universities,' Miller said.
Mary Feltham, chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, said that they're receiving reports of program cuts and reduced on-campus services.
She said the reduction of international student enrolment is creating a domino effect that extends off campus.
'Now we're seeing a decline in services offered for everyone, a decline in jobs, a decline in different types of programs, which is impacting the ability for people to get an education and then contribute back to their province and country,' Feltham said.
The government's target for study permits this year is 437,000 nationwide, a 10 per cent reduction over 2024.
Ottawa first introduced it's cap on study permits in 2024, which it says contributed to a roughly 40 per cent reduction in international students and 'eased' the rental housing market in areas with high student populations.
Tuition for these students varies by school, but international fees are typically four to five times what domestic students pay.
An emailed statement from a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said that Canada values the 'significant' benefits international students bring to the country but the program faced sustainability challenges.
The statement adds that the new minister looks forward to meeting with stakeholders to address concerns and ensure Canada continues to attract top talent.
Miller said Universities Canada has requested a meeting with the minister. He said the cap itself isn't as big an issue as requesting stability in the rules for international students so Canada can be seen as attractive.
Feltham said that the CFS is working on lobby efforts to all levels of government to improve post-secondary funding and they'd been warning about these coming issues 'for years.'
'It's just really frustrating to see because international students have often been used as a scapegoat for these problems or been used as cash cows,' Feltham said. 'So universities and colleges have really relied on them to be a source of income, which is also not appropriate, and this is why we've been asking for governments to properly fund these institutions.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2025
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
Most Canadians want increase in defence spending: Poll
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney tours military vehicles and meets with Canadian troops of the 4th Canadian Division as he attends a tour of the Fort York Armoury on June 9, 2025 in Toronto. Carney has pledged to meet NATO's 2% spending pledge this year. Photo by Cole Burston / GETTY IMAGES OTTAWA — Spending an extra $20 billion to bring defence spending to its mandated NATO minimum is something Canadians approve of, say new poll numbers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Released on Tuesday, the new Angus Reid survey suggests two-thirds of Canadians support Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement Monday to boost Canada's defence spending to two per cent of our GDP — a minimum requirement under NATO that Canada has never achieved since the alliance introduced the benchmark in 2006. That plan, Carney said Monday, will ensure 'Canada is strong at home and reliable abroad,' and prioritize made-in-Canada manufacturing and supply chains. Sixty-eight per cent of those polled are in favour of increasing Canada's defence spending — with 51% wanting Canada to stop at two per cent, while 17% say they'd like to see spending go even higher. Twenty-three per cent want to keep spending where it is — currently 1.37% of GDP — while just 10% want defence spending reduced. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Broken down by party, 71% of Liberal supporters and 76% of Conservatives want defence spending increased, dropping to 55% for Bloc Quebecois voters, and 51% for NDP supporters. Unsurprisingly, NDP supporters were most likely to want defence spending decreased at 21%. With word this week that NATO's considering increasing defence spending benchmarks as high as five per cent, 47% say a spending increase that high would take away from other priorities, while 36% described it as a fair target. Read More Despite this, a plurality of Canadians aren't confidence the extra money will result in a stronger military. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Forty-six per cent say they're not that confident the Liberal government will make significant progress in strengthening our armed forces, compared to 44% who say they do. Canada's efforts to distance itself from the United States also includes Canada signing onto the ReArm Europe defence plan, a deal Carney is hoping to ink by Canada Day. Sixty per cent described this plan as a good idea, while just 23% said Canada should remain close to the United States. Canada, Carney said on Monday, needs to find ways to stop sending three-quarters of our defence capital spending to the United States. The poll was conducted among 4,067 Canadian adults between June 2 and June 8, 2025 via the Angus Reid Forum. As margins-of-error cannot be applied to online panels, a comparable probability sample would yield one no greater than ± 1.5%, 19 times out of 20. bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto Blue Jays NHL Columnists Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Canada-U.S. travel falls further for 5th straight month: StatCan
The number of Canadians returning from travel to the U.S. by land and air continues to decline, according to new data released by Statistics Canada. The data showed that return trips made by Canadians in May dropped for the fifth consecutive month compared with last year, with trips north by Americans also dropping. In May, 1.3 million Canadians made a return trip by car from the U.S., a drop of 38.1 per cent compared with the same month in 2024. Just a month earlier, there was a decline of 35.2 per cent compared with April 2024, with 1.2 million return trips. 2:08 Some Maritime sports teams reconsidering U.S. travel Air travel also saw a decline in May, with Statistics Canada reporting Canadian return trips fell 24.2 per cent compared with the same month in 2024. Story continues below advertisement This marks an even steeper decline than in April, when the number of Canadians who returned by air dropped 19.9 per cent compared with a year earlier. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Fewer Americans also made their journey to their northern neighbour, with data showing 1,044,700 trips by automobile were made, an 8.4 per cent decline compared with last year. Air travel to Canada by Americans also fell slightly compared with 2024, dropping by 0.3 per cent. Travel has continued to drop since the beginning of the year amid U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and rhetoric of making Canada the '51st state,' as well as a weakened Canadian dollar. The drop has had a ripple effect on airlines, with some reducing the capacity of their flights to the U.S. to respond to lower demand. In March, Air Canada reduced flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona, and WestJet, Flair Airlines and Air Transat made similar moves.


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
These real estate markets might be showing signs of life, report suggests
After a slow year for real estate in Canada, with some experts describing the spring housing market as 'dead on arrival,' a new report suggests some markets are showing signs of life. A report by the Royal Bank of Canada released Monday said local real estate boards have indicated that home resales picked up in some Canadian markets in May. This was largely due to de-escalation of parts of the U.S. trade war on Canada, the report said. 'The de-escalation of tariffs has taken centre stage since May, alleviating some of the worst fears about the potential economic fallout even though recent doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs increases risks in some communities. We expect to get a clearer view in the coming months,' RBC economist Robert Hogue said in the report. Penelope Graham, mortgage expert at said tariffs have affected buyer confidence but 'cracks of hope' have begun to emerge. Story continues below advertisement 'From a short-term perspective, sales activity has started to pick up. This corresponds with the cracks of hope emerging in the trade scenario,' she said. Anne-Elise Cugliari Allegritti, spokesperson for Royal LePage, said, 'All in all, I think confidence is returning, at least for some Canadians. That's translated into the housing market a bit but in very, very small spurts.' Graham warned that the volatility has not entirely disappeared. 'There's still plenty of downside risks for the real estate market. If we continue to see declines in the jobs market, home sales will likely stay subdued, unless interest rates are cut dramatically,' she said. 1:58 New realtor trends emerging as housing market cools Which markets are picking up? The RBC report said the real estate markets in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Fraser Valley, Saskatoon and Regina all showed some signs of life. Story continues below advertisement The report said that while U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war had 'paralyzed' the housing market in Toronto, home resales picked up 8.4 per cent from April to May. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy However, home prices in Toronto continue to remain low, down 4.5 per cent compared to this time last year. Calgary and Edmonton, too, saw housing activity pick up. 'The trade war likely caused some buyers to pause in recent months, but its cooling impact on demand in Calgary may have been limited — or even short-lived,' Hogue said, adding that housing activity picked up eight per cent from April to May in Calgary. Quebec markets have been bucking national housing trends, Allegritti said. 'The Quebec markets really stand out this year, in not only Greater Montreal but even in Quebec City and some of the other smaller markets in the province,' she said. Median prices for single-family homes and condo apartments in Montreal were up 8.6 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, in May from a year ago — a touch slower than in April, the RBC report said. It added that in many markets, demand now looks sturdy. 'Prairie markets such as Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and some in Quebec including Quebec City and the Atlantic region like St. John's, have held up so far — albeit not entirely unscathed from trade-induced anxiety,' the report said. Story continues below advertisement The ultra-luxury real estate market is also showing solid demand, international realty firm Sotheby's said. According to Sotheby's, five properties worth over $10 million were sold in the Greater Toronto Area in the first three months of 2025. Slower markets While markets in Toronto and the Fraser Valley are picking up, sellers in other parts of Ontario and British Columbia are struggling. 'It should also be noted that some hard-hit tariffed industries, such as manufacturing, are concentrated in these southern Ontario markets,' Graham said. Sellers in Vancouver are being forced to accept lower bids, the report said, as buyers seem to be in no urgency to buy. 'There remains little urgency for potential buyers to make a move in this still-fraught economic environment. Time is on their side with buying options increasing by the day and prices drifting lower,' the report said. Story continues below advertisement What should buyers and sellers do? Despite the uptick in activity, market conditions remain favorable for anyone looking to buy a home this summer. 'I don't have high expectations for the summer. That's a typically quiet time for the housing market across the country,' Allegritti said. 'We will probably see a pick up in the fall, which is typically a busier part time of the year in the housing market,' she said. Buyers can expect higher inventory, more choice and better ability to bargain for a deal, Graham said. 'There is an opportunity to buy a property at a lower price, and lower interest rates mean buyers will qualify for larger mortgage amounts. Buyers also have more leverage in softer markets and can ask for conditions, such as upon financing or inspection, that further benefit them,' she said. Story continues below advertisement For sellers, however, the market remains tricky. 'It's important to have realistic expectations when listing in a down market and to price your property accordingly. An agent who understands your neighbourhood and comparable sales, and who knows how to market your property effectively, can be an important ally,' Graham said.